Weekly Forecast: October 17-23

I was struggling to start this forecast for the strange reason that it was too simple, to the point where entering the space of the reading felt nearly impossible. If you can sum up something in one sentence, why go any further?

Well, this is tarot after all, and each reading is its own world. We can’t just stop there, at the door, without walking in and exploring the whole house.

And then I had a little chuckle; of course it was difficult starting a reading that begins with The Four of Pentacles. We can all feel this card’s association with reserve, self-protection, and restraint just by looking at it. This person doesn’t not seem relaxed! But take some time to observe, listen, and maybe gently pry one of the pentacles from their fingers? Well, then a whole other side of the coin emerges.

So, at the beginning of this week take a moment to see where you’ve been holding steady. What about your life is most precious to you? What do you refuse to compromise on? And how might this steadfastness be a reflection of your dedication to something greater, the promise of a better future?

We may be feeling unsure of this dedication, questioning our instinct to dig our heels in and not budge. Are we being stubborn? Irresponsible? Rigid? The Knight of Swords shows us facing a strong headwind. Self-criticism, impatience, and old loyalty to stale ideas hang heavy in the air. This is a time, however, to sit down, cradle your pentacles, and let these urges and ideas pass by. We have something much more interesting coming our way, and it’s showing up in our actual experiences, not our thoughts.

What does is mean to resist the urge to rush, pursue, and make meaning? This week we have a generative showdown between the slow-moving solidity of the pentacles and the lightening-fast, nimble and reactive Knight of Swords. I won’t mince words; it’s not a chill energy. It will feel sticky at times. But I think we’ve all been practicing inhabiting a healthy “Four of Pentacles mindset.” When needed, take refuge in past examples of how your determination to stay true to yourself - especially in relation to your time, material life, and work - has given you a sense of independence and stability.

Why am I so sure of this? Well, we have a beautiful card showing up at the end of the week that affirms our instinct to wait, ground ourselves, and hold out for something more: The Ace of Pentacles. Our period of waiting, it seems, isn’t going to last long, and a gift is arriving on the scene. It could take the form of a new opportunity, a stroke of good luck, or simply an experience that inspires and revivifies us.

The only catch? We must be ready to loosen our grip on the way our life is now to make room for the newness we’ve been yearning for.

This week, embrace:

• Staying your course

• Taking care of business

• Caring for your body, home, and posessions

• Revisiting your goals

• Prioritizing your wellbeing (in all senses of the word)

• Holding out for the right _______

This week, avoid:

• Being swayed by societal expectations, others’ opinions, the urge to compensate

• Rash action

• Speaking before you’re sure of what you really want to say

• Cutting down your visions for the future

• Saying no to something delightful

Get creative:

• The Four of Pentacles: Let’s tap into the practicality of this card. Fours in tarot are about foundations, stability, and the contours of our life. Pentacles are about our physical reality. So! Spend some time exploring what this means to you at this particular point in your life. What are the four cornerstones of your life’s foundation? Categories to consider: time, body, relationships, resources; places, people, activities, work; routine, rituals, nourishment, expression. Mix and match if you’d like, but be sure to pick four and expand on the things you do to uphold each.

• Knight of Swords: This card is occupying the “butthead role” for the week. In other words, it’s telling us what not to do. So, cultivate a lighthearted and clear-headed relationship with this card. Where do you see the Knight of Swords in your life? How do you inhabit its particular flavor of know-it-all-ness. Some things to consider: What stories get you fired up in the wrong direction? Where do you rush into black and white thinking in order to protect yourself? What do you sound like (and feel like) when you blurt out stupid things? Simple awareness is often all it takes to resist this card’s pull.

• Ace of Pentacles: Aces are somewhat intimidating. How do we know when they arrive? Can we trust them? I feel like this is an important week to open our arms to our aces preemptively, so that we don’t turn them away when they appear. How do we do this? Build a shrine to your Ace of Pentacles. I know you know what you’re really yearning for right now. Let yourself want it, no matter how embarrassing it feels (I see you, Knight of Swords!). Find a space in your home to set out objects that represent this wish, desire, outcome, or gift. Set our some flowers, light a candle, let things be lovely.

Weekly Forecast: February 14-20

Discovering and planting the right seeds for spring

Let’s skip to the end for a change: It’s the middle of May and the world has been transformed from restful shades of grey to exuberant green. You’re in your garden, the illustrations on your seed packets come to life in a profusion of blooms around you. The weather is balmy and you’re wearing the festive outfit you bought on winter clearance with the hope of kinder days in mind. It’s peaceful and golden, and you’re waiting for your friends to arrive after having set out a charming, casual array of homemade snacks and drinks. You close your eyes and inhale slowly, savoring a moment of ease and satisfaction.

Now, rewind to the present, and ask yourself: What can I do right now to support this future moment?

Now this vision may not be so literal, and if you’re struggling to resonate with a chill afternoon in the yard (and even if you do), I encourage you to think about how to capture this overall feeling of relaxed power, contentment, and hospitality extending into different areas of your life. The Queen of Pentacles is acting as a role model of sorts in this reading; this is a card that holds the warmth and poise of someone with formidable skills and resources who values stability, community, and reciprocity. How might you begin to step into this character in the days to come?

Court cards often stymie readers because of their cardboard cutout qualities. They all feature similar layouts - a figure holding the symbol of their suit - and I think that leaning into their static, archetypal side is actually helpful. Action figures and trading cards inspire us to play, to use the traits they represent in self-directed action. There may be a facet of “faking it ‘til you make it” to the ways you begin to embody Queen of Pentacles, and rather than viewing this initial awkwardness as disingenuous, welcome it as part of the process. New movements feel stilted until we practice them enough to add them to our muscle memory.

With that being said, let’s return to the beginning of our reading: The Ten of Wands. Our muscles, it seems, are quite tired at the beginning of the week as we struggle to finish important projects and tasks. This phase, however, is very close to its end, and we can gather strength in moments of exhaustion knowing that we’re incredibly close to the finish line, especially when it comes to our external lives in areas like work and creativity. If an action is in service to something you value, do it. If not, lighten your load and let that wand fall by the wayside.

In tarot the tens of the deck illustrate a final conclusion that carries the seed of a new beginning. Sometimes, this particular brand of finality comes with exhaustion. If you feel a particular bone-tiredness coming into this week, don’t despair. Is the fatigue you’re feeling a sign that you’ve reached the end of a long road? How can you give yourself the respect and congratulations you deserve for making it this far? And what changes might give you joy and relief?

Speaking of which, not only do we have a ten showing us the end of a path, we also have an ace right afterwards pointing us in a new and exciting direction. Exhaustion and overwhelm will quickly shift to fascination as a new opportunity comes into focus. We’re shifting from the fast-moving, action oriented world of the wands suit to the grounded and lush pentacles. And, wow, does it seem like we’re ready. We vault from the Ace of Pentacles into the Queen of Pentacles, moving from a fresh beginning into self-assured mastery. What are we taking to with grace and ease? What changes suit us perfectly? This is a time to pay attention to what works, feels good, and develops quickly. If you’ve been waiting for a moment to start something new, commit to a promising path, or invest in yourself, this is the time.

The pentacles are the suit of earth, and sometimes I think we stick to close to the surface of this connection, equating earth with life-giving dirt. But why stay at the top? Dirt is simply the earth’s crust, a fraction of the planet itself. This reading invites us to consider the flashier, deeper parts of the element: the diversity of splendid crystals and minerals, the raw power of molten magma. The Queen of Pentacles is in touch with these inner treasures and can channel their allure and power in service of a meaningful life. This is a time to consider our relationship to our power and respect the heft and impact it can have in the everyday. Are there parts of your life that you can change, gifting yourself with beauty and ease? This is not a time to be self-abnegating or miserly. Some small investments can change the quality of your life, and the Queen of Pentacles reminds us that enjoyment of life brings us closer to ourselves and others, awakening us to the world through sensual experience.

A final word on the Ace here: this is a time when something that seems small has the longterm potential to take us somewhere impactful. The key to identifying it, however, is in how it makes you feel - self assured and grounded like the Queen of Pentacles? Or burdened with obligation like the Ten of Wands? This is a time when we’re close to touching a solution or new path that simply feels good and can skirt around our usual pitfalls. If you feel like you need to suffer to succeed, or that all forward motion needs to be plotted out and planned within an inch of its life, try to let go of these assumptions and follow what unfolds naturally and with ease. It may be uncomfortable at first, but I think that remaining closed off to these changes would be an absolute shame. And, after all, we’re practicing stepping into the Queen of Pentacles’ shoes; if practice makes perfect, why expect ourselves to be perfect just yet?

This week, embrace:

• Putting the finishing touches on projects

• New opportunities that fuel your sense of wonder

• Daydreaming about an ideal life, particularly with regards to your career

• Investing in yourself

This week, avoid:

• Preemptively shooting down ideas because of “practical” reasons

• Airing your tender dreams to unsupportive others

• Getting swept up in big picture worries

• Fighting natural changes

Get creative:

• Ten of Wands: A practical suggestion here: Sometimes the best antidote to overwhelm is a good old-fashioned list. Take some time to sort out your wands by writing out all the little tasks you’re facing - swat those pesky mosquito worries onto the page so you can work with them! Once you’ve written everything out, mercilessly scratch out anything that’s inessential for the week. Either it can wait or it wasn’t important to begin with. Now you have a list of what matters and a clearer head. Farewell, Ten of Wands overwhelm!

• Ace of Pentacles: There’s something dreamy about the aces (maybe it’s all those swirly clouds) and I feel like a good way to see what’s pointing to a new beginning is if it carries the giddy charge of a budding crush. In this card the setting is a lush garden - life is looking pretty good. With that as a framework (your life is good as it is), think of ways you can make it even better. No scarcity mentality here! See if freeing yourself to dream from a place of satisfaction points you towards ideas, paths, or potentials that feel both expansive and actionable.

• Queen of Pentacles: Do you feel like a Queen? I hope so, but I know that I certainly don’t all the time. Let’s take this card as actual inspiration this week. If you feel up to it, choose a day to get decked out in your version of Queen of Pentacles finery. What makes you feel comfortable and fabulous? Whether it’s a pair of “fancy” sweats or a beaded robe (sadly, I do not own one of these… yet) put it on for a day and see how it shifts your view of yourself. How might you capture this feeling in other corners of your life?

Weekly Forecast: November 18-24

We have some seismic activity this week, dear friends. The Tower is back again, this time to shake us out of an uncomfortable urge to control and regulate our lives. Yet, like any tower experience, it’s not subtle, gentle, or entirely wanted, if you catch my drift. We may find ourselves scrambling to hold on to any sense of stability and narrative, and that’s okay.  I’m not sure it’s possible to have a calm, collected, and 100% dignified experience with The Tower; that’s what makes it so powerful. 

When this card comes up it’s usually an invitation to look at what we thought was strong, unassailable, and utterly true. Though we often take these forces for granted, there’s usually some sort of slow march towards the big moments when they come tumbling down. Like water slowly eating away at rock, we’ve been eroding our trust, belief, or connection to The Towers in our life. 

Where have we felt off lately? What big forces have been dictating our lives that no longer hold their seduction or strength? See if you can see the buildup to this moment: I have a feeling that doing so will be a huge part of our healing.

I feel tender looking at these cards because the destructive intensity of The Tower is followed by the limitless potential of The Fountain. And, guess what? Limitless potential is very intense in its own way! We can see the seduction and safety of The Tower with more compassion in this reading. Staying in crisis can often keep us safe from the pitfalls of the unknown. If we’re in damage control, we’re not taking any new risks, and who’s going to argue with us when we’re trying to salvage a situation?

Now I’m not saying that we’re all going to be embroiled in epic cataclysm this week! (Wouldn’t that be terrifying?) Tarot shows up in our lives on a spectrum, and I have a feeling that this iteration of The Tower is more mental. What, in other words, has been distracting our energy from the potential that’s presenting itself to us right now? The Fountain suggests not only a wealth of opportunity, but a deep connection with our innate desire to participate in the world as our full selves. That is, operating at our full potential and partaking in the wonder of the universe. Sure, it’s cosmic, but it’s absolutely available to us in the moment.

Pay attention to any self-limiting thoughts, particularly the ones that put you in the place of The Tower. I’m feeling this as more of a desire to fix, control, or even save something that’s falling apart. In this reading, the falling apart may be entirely necessary for the full scope of The Fountain to reveal itself. It may also not be yours to contend with at all; tending to others’ catastrophes will prevent their essential reckoning and distract you from your growth. 

Now all of this is big, epic, and lofty, yet on the other side we come down to earth with the Ace of Pentacles. Could there be a more sweet and affirming card than this? I don’t think so. Stepping into the possibility of The Fountain is quickly resulting in a tangible sense of stability, perhaps even a welcome and alluring opportunity. It’s as if a hand is reaching out from the other side to guide us across the rift. I love how the exciting and terrifying imagery of the cosmos in The Fountain shifts into the welcome greenery of the Ace of Coins. We belong on the ground, in our real lives, and there’s so much we can grow there. 

While shuffling for this reading, a fourth card jumped out: The Eight of Swords. This is a very helpful and straightforward addition to the reading. It’s telling us that getting caught in our thoughts - overanalyzing, rationalizing, and intellectualizing - is only keeping us stuck. Instead, we have the practical and zestful Ace of Pentacles to inspire us. What makes us feel at one with ourselves? What makes us feel connected to life - our bodies, sensory pleasures, homes, and nature. Doing simple things to foster this link will bring us forward and ground us at the same time, no analyzing required. 

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Weekly Forecast: March 18-24

In order to receive, you must let go.

It feels nice to be safe and certain of our lives. Security is nothing to scoff at - we need to take care of our physical selves, provide for our basic needs, and doing so isn't always easy. Having enough is a huge privilege, but if we cling to it too long it can become stifling and limited.

This week we're at a point that's difficult to reconcile. We may feel that asking for more after having worked so hard to get the basics seems greedy, as if we're tempting fate. Why go and invite in the unknown with any changes if we're fed, clothed, and safe? 

We can see this position reflected in the Four of Pentacles, and I love how this card shows the sense of stability and pride that comes from providing for ourselves. Sometimes this card appears as a wonderful affirmation - we've made it and it's time to celebrate and get to know all the facets of what we've built for ourselves. 

But, like any tarot card, it's meant to be a stepping stone on a larger journey. After all, our lives are animated by change, and clinging too hard to what we know can often leave us stuck and out of sync with the larger rhythm of our life.

This week we're presented with a choice and it may feel big and intimidating. The Ace of Pentacles is appearing center stage, tempting us with an alluring offer. It's asking us to accept a shiny new gift, but in order to do so we must put down one of our pentacles. Staying with what we know effectively blocks us from this new energy. Remaining in the four may seem safe, but it's no way to grow.

Luckily, the Ace of Pentacles is a gentle card. New things can often become the perfect receptacles for our anxiety. Because they're all potential and possibility we can offload all our general anxieties onto them, burying something shiny and new with frightening futures. 

The Four of Pentacles, while a place to celebrate once you've reached it, can become mired with conservative thinking. Instead of seeing opportunity in newness it sees paths to loss. This is a wonderful time to dig deeper into our ideas of how much we can have and all the roadblocks that we put up in the face of emerging excitement. Where do these thoughts come from? And why might we look to them in the face of something truly exciting?

Oftentimes these protective mechanisms have a lot to do with our ideas of maturity and responsibility. The fourth card in the Major Arcana is The Emperor, an archetype that, to be frank, is amazingly adept at triggering old wounds around our experiences with our parents.

Is there something about this new pursuit that's bringing up our ideas of how we "should" behave? Are we silently following old ideas of what responsibility looks like, only to trap ourselves in inauthentic thought patterns?

The King of Cups emerges on the other side to show us that there's another path. Stability doesn't have to be rooted in utter certainty and known quantities. We can be much more fluid, creative, and flexible in our approach to life while maintaining our sense of responsibility. 

If anything, this card shows us how we can gather power from embracing the unknown. This is a model of leadership that accepts and trusts in change. If it's inevitable (as we all know) then we can jump on in, a fish swimming in the waters, and navigate with confidence. Sometimes things will be challenging and sometimes they'll be calm. But we can always trust our experiences and the wisdom we've accumulated along the way to guide us.

In this mindset, the Ace of Pentacles is a small and beautiful invitation to move further along our path, not some scary entity here to disrupt and challenge everything we've worked so hard for. If there's something exciting on the horizon - an idea, hobby, opportunity, or practice - that you'd like to pursue - this card says go for for it.

Start simple and let it be what it is - something new and exciting that's still small. Exploring new things doesn't mean abandoning your security, it simply means building upon it. And that's what security is for, after all. Providing a foundation for our growth and expansion. 

 It can add to our sense of stability and bring in the energy of newness and opportunity. If it doesn't work out, we can always change course. But to turn it away for fear of losing what we already have would keep us feeling stuck. 

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Weekly Forecast: February 4-10

I like to think of the Aces as seeds. They appear in your life with natural excitement. You can feel their potential as they move closer, starting first as a glimmering idea in the distance - maybe like one of those charming seed catalogs with vintage illustrations - and transforming into a very real thing, young and curled up tightly in the palm of your hand. 

You know that if you plant the seed it will, with patient tending and care, grow into the beautiful plant on the package, and this week has the same feeling of delight. Something important has arrived and now has a tangible presence in our life. It's as if we planned out a dream garden, circling each plant in the catalog, and our order has finally arrived on the doorstep as the Ace of Pentacles.

Think of the feeling of anticipation - what is making you feel lit up, excited, and maybe even a little bit nervous? This Ace is one that's rooted in the everyday. This change we're hoping to cultivate requires a shift in our life and, what's more, it's something we deeply and truly want. 

And that's where The Devil comes in.

This figure, while initially frightening, has an impish quality about him. This version of The Devil, from the Pagan Other worlds Tarot, strikes me as particularly earthy - the same element as the pentacles. It's as if we're traipsing around with our new seed in hand, ready to make the commitment and plant it in our garden, and this irritating little goblin pops out from behind a rock to scare us. 

And here's another thing about seeds. We have to care for them, especially if we want them to grow into a majestic vine as shown in the Nine of Pentacles, the potential future that The Devil is blocking. 

Something about this new opportunity is triggering some deep-seated fears and doubts.  Because why on earth would something as intense as The Devil show up in response to a puny seed? 

When we look at the pentacles they reflect not only the idea of material and physical comfort, but the glowing reality of having a life that supports us and ushers in fulfillment and abundance. This takes investment in our self-worth and the bravery of asking for more. It shows us not settling for the bare minimum and daring to live bright lives that can grow into gardens beyond our imagination.

So that's why The Devil is so intent on squashing this seemingly-simple Ace. He knows that if we take the time to nurture this seed it will change our lives, make it better, and therefore challenge our long-held assumptions about ourselves: what we're capable of, what we can have, and who we can be. 

What's unique about this reading is that the Nine of Pentacles is in sight. We're aware of what lies on the other side and this shows us just how much work we've been doing to push ourselves to expand and test the limits of what we think is possible. Think back to past changes in your life that you've embraced and compare them to what you're facing now. What more do you know about your strength and power? How has The Devil of your self doubt faded and grown smaller?

This week, The Devil is a shade of his former self - more of a little goblin to flick aside and maybe even pat on the head lovingly, if we can muster the compassion, than a muscular and formidable being. And, indeed, as we travel through life our goal isn't to squash out The Devil we carry with us. This card arises from a distorted urge to protect ourselves, but it's no true help when we're protecting ourselves from success.

And so the Nine of Pentacles urges us to see how good a job we've done at channeling our Devil instincts for maintaining the status quo by breaking ourselves down with negative self-talk & blame into patience and calm. The hooded falcon perched atop the vine of pentacles shows us how  our devils can be transformed into helpful allies. 

Our instincts for self-preservation are slowly learning how to rest. Like the falcon, The Devil needs time to be trained into welcome submission. It must be exhausting running around squishing newly planted seeds and sabotaging our gardening efforts! Though the process is slow, we've come a long way getting to understand our aversion to success and instinct for self-sabotage.

This week is a time to mindfully calm our Devil-nature, knowing they are soon to be channeled into a well-behaved companion. And, most importantly, to continue with the work of valuing and working towards our goals because, as the Nine of Pentacles shows us, they're leading to some serious and wonderful abundance. The seeds we're planting are too beautiful to neglect, so let's get to the rewarding work of valuing and tending to our growth.

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Weekly Forecast: September 3-9

This is a week full of opportunity for us if we choose to reach out and take what's being offered to us. Of course, starting with the Ace of Pentacles is a welcome beacon of potential and promise. Look at this singular, shining coin! And yet taking gifts when they're offered isn't as easy as it may seem. Many of us struggle with accepting good things. Sometimes we're afraid of the spotlight - that we look greedy or boastful - and sometimes we're afraid of growing into something bigger.

We'll be experiencing some of these tensions this week, though not in a paralyzing sense. Rather, we're in a position where we can no longer ignore the magic happening around us. We can work on editing some of these stale and limiting stories because the rewards and support in our lives are too big to ignore.

This ace is appearing to let us know that our actions to date have been accumulating a lot of goodwill and recognition, even if we've been unaware of it, lost in doubts or simply the focus of continuing along a path, one foot ahead of the other.

This is a time to examine our reflexive responses to gifts and kindness. Are we comfortable receiving attention, support, and goodwill? How adept are we at navigating the spotlight? Whether we're feeling ready for it or not, this is a moment where we can launch ourselves into a radically new phase. It's time to get going, abandon any limitations we tend to put in front of us, and let ourselves walk into ease and expansion.

Because we have two Major Arcana cards springing from the Ace of Pentacles. Both point towards expression, growth, and support. Taking a gift, gesture of support, or windfall and running with it is leading us to bigger places. 

The Hierophant lets us know that we have incredible resources to draw on. This card speaks to mentoring figures in our lives. Who in our circles or their peripheries inspires us? Who can guide us on our path and offer us sage advice as we stretch our wings? We're onto something here and reaching out to those who've been down similar roads will both add to our knowledge and help galvanize us. This week is a time to reach out and connect with the people who inspire us. 

Bringing our dreams to others is a magical way to stay accountable and dedicated to their realization. Left alone we can abandon the path and nobody would be the wiser.

And that would be a shame since The Sun, our final card, shows us walking towards a beautiful burst of self-expression. The Sun shines so brightly that we often take it for granted. It's difficult to squint into its light and see how much energy and work goes into its output. Being a beacon, living our truth, and sharing that truth with the world is a true labor of love. It's a wonderful thing to behold, but it also requires being active, present, and, in a sense, vulnerable.

We may be feeling some anxiety this week about being seen fully, our ambitions and dreams visible to all around us. Wanting things and then pursuing them means that we're putting ourselves out there. Make room for that naked feeling while focusing on the freedom that comes with it. So what if we have big dreams and are working to make them real? When we become our own suns we don't need to worry about the opinions of others or even the bumps along the road. 

Our vision for change and connection to ourselves will always be shining above any clouds. 

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Weekly Forecast: February 19-25

My friends! What a group of cards! We are clearly entering into a queenly week, one where we're holding ourselves in their grounded and dynamic energy, confident and poised in both the realm of our embodied minds and our free and flying thoughts.

Not only this, but a new pathway is being slowly revealed to us in our work life. Winding into the distance, this next step is using the tension between the skills we already have and the promise of something new to animate an exciting opportunity. 

I can't help but think of last week's reading - another group of cards that focused on the promise and challenge of making a life for ourselves. Yes, it's the usual grind and effort of work. Taken on a surface level, as this topic often is, we see themes of money, success, struggle, and accomplishment. This week, however, the Queen of Pentacles appears first thing, asking us to consider the sacred beauty and peace of crafting a life for ourselves. The errands, obligations, work hours, and even bills that root us to our place in the world. 

We have the literal progression from our final card last week, The Knight of Pentacles, to the first card here, The Queen. While The Knight has an electric, restless energy, always seeking and striving, The Queen has learned to give herself stillness. Freed from the rat race she allows bounty to come her way. Just look at the soft brown bunny hopping into the picture in the bottom right of the card. 

Once we've  created a sustaining and gratifying routine we can sit back and watch it unfold and take care of us. Sure, we may have our queenly duties to attend to, but we can delegate many tasks and find joy in the ones we choose to keep. This card contains a great deal of wisdom around re-framing our obligations as things that we do to care for ourselves. Once we've reached this position we can truly inhabit our throne, using its solidity and stillness to direct our focus towards what matters most. The Queen of Pentacles is able to relax in times of plenty, direct from her true center of power, and in doing so creates an inviting space that calls in new opportunities (and lovely fuzzy brown bunnies).

Our next card, The Queen of Swords, shows that this space is giving us a welcome dose of mental clarity that has us looking to the future with focus and wisdom. Looking at the body language and direction of the Queens hones in on the power of where we direct our energy. Focusing on the lovely structure of our daily lives has given us a warm and inviting creative space that paves the way for the forward-looking confidence of the Queen of Swords.

We can think of this card as our level-headed and formidable advisor. Oftentimes our minds get short-shrift since they do have the unfortunate tendency to overwhelm us with chatter or anxiety. Here, however, our minds are keen, perceptive, and far-seeing. Clouds of confusion are huddling close to the ground revealing a bright expanse of clear blue. We can see the way forward and use our ability to organize, direct, and command to plan our way forward.

The Ace of Pentacles is our final card, and appears here as a very literal message. Something new is on the way, a golden opportunity that will require our action and bravery. We can't just wait for things to unfold and work in our favor, we must accept the challenge and go after it with all our resources. Fortunately, we have two formidable Queens representing our energies right now. With the grounded practicality and visionary astuteness we're more than ready to travel out from our already lush lives and towards another welcome and rewarding challenge.

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Weekly Forecast: January 15-21

The Queen of Wands is a vividly powerful character. Sitting proudly on her throne she has an air of anticipation about her. Looking at her expression it's as if she's only just sat down to realize there's something else to do, another tantalizing opportunity to seize.

This card embodies the dynamic power of our creativity. And yes, creativity here is a wide and encompassing term. Not limited to art, we can think of creativity as quite simply the act of creation itself. Making something out of nothing more than a spark of inspiration combined with our will. We envision, we decide, we make it real.

The Queen of Wands is uniquely clear-minded. Following our creative impulses has the exhilarating side effect of clearing out any and all cobwebs. There's no room for stultifying boredom, limiting self-consciousness, or crippling self-doubt when we allow ourselves to be in the world and interact with it. 

If the Queen has any secret it's that she does at time feel boredom, self-consciousness, and self-doubt; she doesn't, however, allow them to hold her back. In her nuanced understanding of herself and the world there's room enough for all her facets, the "negative" included. This week we're given the opportunity to embrace her mindset and allow ourselves the treat of manifesting our desires and ideas in real time, all while accomodating and valuing our imperfections.

Wands, beging governed by the element of fire, have a rapid energy and, left untempered, can get out of hand and engulf us. Think of the manic feeling that comes from doing too much in succession. The to-do list becomes threatening and our self-esteem hinges on our ability to check everything off as completed. The Two of Swords brings in a nearly perfect counterpoint to this energy: air to feed the fire and water to keep the flames contained so they burn just right. 

This card asks us to integrate moments of introspection so that the energy of the Queen of Wands can serve us best. Action requires rest, decisions require space, and expansion requires wisdom. The Two of Swords gives us all these things on two levels. The first is mental. We can take space to consider things, using our mind to reason through whichever crossroad we're at. The second is intuitive. Taking space allows the deep wisdom of our subconscious to bubble up and add its voice to the conversation. 

What a beautiful confluence! In giving ourselves moments between our actions this week we're engaging with our creativity, intellect, and intuition. It's no surprise then that's this is leading us towards our final card, the Ace of Pentacles. Opportunity is ariving in our lives in response to the hard work we're doing to integrate these many parts of ourselves. This ace will likely show itself in our work - there's an opportunity knocking that will give us a path to build on our stability and expand into a new phase. 

 All we need to do to recieve these gifts is follow the advice in the Queen of Wands and Two of Swords: continue creating with confidence and vigor, make room for our weird and wild selves, and take time to consult both our inner and outer wisdom. 

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Weekly Forecast: January 8-14

As a general practice, I like to cut right to the chase when more apocalyptic-looking tarot cards make an appearance in a reading. For this week we have the stabby Three of Swords and the cataclysmic Tower. Not doing a whole lot to lighten things up, the Ten of Wands concludes our array for the week.

It's rough stuff at first glance, but you'd be surprised that I breathed a sigh of relief when I turned over these cards.. There's a deep layer of meaning here that I'm glad to see, and an overarching theme of movement in an area of our lives that has long been characterized by stagnation.

We've been holding something close to our hearts that's no longer doing us any good. The Three of Swords speaks to the immediacy of our pain. Umistakably, this card shows us that when we're wounded we suffer. This experience serves to protect us (in feeling pain we can learn to avoid it in the future) as well as to summon our energy so we can begin to heal. Our body and mind are drawn to the source and, with our attention focused, we can see what's causing the wound, remove the source, and allow our bodies to do their work.

Without this experience we wouldn't have as rich an understanding of the world and of ourselves; pain and suffering help direct us towards our own path. There's a great deal of wisdom there when we peel back the layers. (And, yes, it's still painful - there's no denying that).

Interestingly, we also can remove some power from the hurt through experiencing and exploring it. Think of a toddler falling and scraping their knee. The shock of the fall and the pain makes them wail in the way only toddlers can: with wild abandon and piercing volume. Once calmed down, they find it's just a small scrape and, after a bandaid is slapped on, they scamper off on another adventure.

But what happens when we don't allow ourselves to process our pain in real time? Detatching from ourselves and holding onto the initial shock of an experience can cause it to become overpowering. What started as a scrape if we had only looked down and treated it becomes seen as a lethal wound. We may hide our pain, try to ignore it, or become afraid. All this effort is exhausting.

There's a tender side to the Three of Swords. In its simplicity, it can represent the vulnerability of our childhood selves and our original wounds from this formative stage. There's something bubbling up from our past experiences - a Three of Swords moment - that needs to be evaluated. This can be a tired, limiting family role or a feeling of powerlessness. Examining the deeper root of our unpleasant feelings this week will be illuminating.

And here's the good news: As adults, we can now reach down and comfort our distressed selves, put a bandage on our knee. Now is a time to direct healing energy and understanding towards our inner child, soothing some of the pain around an early hurt that's showing through in our daily lives and providing room to move forward.

When there's a big buildup of repressed emotion around an experience it often leads to an erruption. And that's what brings us to The Tower. In this situation, The Tower reprsents an inevitable and ultimately healing moment of catharsis. An experience this week will send us tumbling back to our younger selves and the suffering we experienced at that time. Rather than avoid this moment, we can lean into it, knowing that some old feelings need to be discharged and that kindness towards ourselves is key for both comfort and growth.

This is not easy stuff, yet there's a sense that this is it's time and we're ready to rise to the challenge. The Ten of Wands shows us reaching the end of a journey of self-care. Reconciling our current selves with past suffering - learning how to love, soothe, and ten to our inner child - is the final piece of the puzzle. While we may feel exhausted at times, we can trust that this is part of our journey. What's more, we're now armed with a wealth of knowledge about how we need to care for ourselves.

It's a winding road of practice and patience; knowing ourselves the way we do, however, gives us the strength to see and experience the Three of Swords and The Tower not as threats, but as essential parts of life that allow us to grow our roots even deeper and emerge as our own best advocate, friend, and healer.  

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